[Sca-cooks] Rotten meat and spices... (a few excerpts fromApicius)

[Terry Decker]

> --- Terry Decker <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>> The specific regulation is that a person who wishes to sell spoiled meat
>> must take a place before the town pillory and sell the meat for what it 
>> is,
>> spoiled meat.  There is no specification as to how the meat is to be used 
>> by
>> the purchaser.  The location before the pillory is an interesting point,
>> since it suggests that the meat may have been used for purposes other 
>> than
>> eating.
>
>
> Regardless of the end use, we can begin to see how the layperson may view 
> this 'regulation' as an
> authorization to sell spoiled meat to the consumer...and make the next 
> logical assumption that
> folks ate spoiled meat.  And therein lies the seed for the belief that 
> medieval folks ate spoiled
> meat.
>
> William de Grandfort

The end use is the point in question and can not be determined from the 
facts in evidence.  From the regulation, the premise that "folks ate spoiled 
meat" can not be proven true or false, therefore the reasoning is erroneous 
and the belief is fallacious based upon this specific instance of reference. 
Without further refining data, the exsistence of the regulation does not 
support either side of the debate.

Bear